Here is to love
by Ani-Obi-Skywalker-Kenobi1985
Summary: Based on the movie 'Down with love' Barbara, Catcher and Peter and Vickey are now married and are about to start families of their own. This story will show Barbara and Vickey during their pregnancies, with funny results. CatcherBarbara PeterVickey.
1. One

**AN: I do not own or have any rights to the movie, Down with love, or any of its characters. They belong to Fox 2000 Pictures and Regency Enterprises. I do own the plot and any characters you do not recognise.**

Here is to love

Barbara Novak-Block, wife of Catcher Block, yawned and fell backwards on hers and Catcher's four poster bed, it was king sized. They had just returned from being on the Ed Sullivan show, where they had promoted their book, they had co-authored 'up with love'

Catcher chuckled at the sight of his wife sprawled out across their bed in the most un-lady like fashion. He knew she was exhausted, especially after their performance on the Ed Sullivan show. She had been wonderful. His lovely wife was so incredibly talented, he marvelled with pride.

He watched her as she just lay there with her eyes closed, appearing all delicate and vulnerable and as if she did not have a care in the world. He knew better. His wife's mind was like a steel trap. Her mind never rested even in sleep. And of course she was anything but delicate and vulnerable. She was fiery, sharp and extremely witty.

His lovely wife had the ability to make a grown man cry or cower, and this was just from the sight of her beautiful bright blue gaze, when the blue eyes in question would flash and blaze in fury, when the woman in question had been suitably provoked.

Catcher knew all to well how unpredictable his wife could be, he had been on the receiving end of the unpredictable nature in question when he had first met her, and had played her for the fool she most certainly wasn't. Unknowing she had been playing him at the same time.

She was his match in every way, just as he was hers. She was his friend and he was hers. They loved to tease and challenge each other, and to see who would crack first when under pressure, which of course was all in fun.

Catcher walked over to the bed and gently reached out a hand towards her and gave her a gentle shake. Her eyes opened instantly. She looked up at him clearly exhausted.

He smiled gently at her and told her. "Barbara love, you need to get changed for bed, you'll be highly uncomfortable in your evening dress if you fall asleep in it."

Barbara moaned around a yawn and reluctantly sat up with his help and headed for the closet and picked a night gown before heading to the bathroom.

She returned fifteen minutes later, after washing off her makeup and cleaning her teeth and replacing her evening dress with her night gown. She looked dead on her feet. He had to lead her by her hands to the bed.

Once he had pulled the covers back he gently pushed her onto the bed before tucking her in. he then grabbed a set of pyjamas for himself and went into the bathroom to take care of his nightly routine.

Once he was finished he returned to the bedroom ten minutes later and quietly slipped into the bed beside his wife, after switching off the bedside lap on his side of the bed. He wrapped her up his arms and smiled slightly when she snuggled closer to him in her sleep. Soon both of them were a sleep.


	2. Two

Here is to love

The next morning found Catcher in his office. He had just finished talking on the phone making arrangements with someone from NASA for his next story. When his door opened to reveal Peter McManus, his feathers were clearly ruffled. Catcher wondered what had rattled his highly strung best friend and boss.

"Peter what is the matter, who or what as ruffled your feathers this time?" Catcher leaned back and looked at his friend questioningly. He wondered how Vicky managed being married to this interesting if not most of the time highly strung man.

Peter sighed and ran a nervous hand through his hair and then fidgeted with his hands in front of him, as if not knowing what to do or where to put them. Catcher recognised this to be a sign that something was really winding Peter up.

Peter moaned and replied "I am so worried about Vicky; I don't know what I'm going to do." Catcher sighed and asked "Why what is the matter with Vicky? Barbara has not said anything to me."

Peter looked suddenly afraid. He said "Catcher I think there is something seriously wrong with Vicky. She is constantly being sick, she is tiered and emotional. Wow she is even smoking less, other wise she ends up feeling even worse. I do not know what to do Catch; I have no idea what is wrong with her."

Catcher suddenly smirked, making Peter narrow his eyes at him. He exclaimed "Catch I hardly find this to be an amusing situation. No not at all, this is my wife; she could be life threateningly sick."

Catcher shook his head before picking up his phone and saying to Peter "Honestly Peter I think your worrying over nothing. I have a feeling Vicky is going to be just fine. Trust me."

Catcher called Barbara. She answered after the third ring.

**'Barbara Novak-Block'**

Catcher smiled at hearing this. He still loved to hear Barbara when she answered the phone like that. It told him there was finally a Mrs. Block. He loved the sound of his name long side Barbara's.

"Barbara love. I need a favour. No I'm fine love, really I am. But I'm not to sure I can honestly say that about dear old Peter here."

**'Why what is the matter with him? Vicky hasn't mentioned them having any problems. Of course this is Peter and he is naturally nervous over most things. But then, it is usually something you've done that has him sweating'**

Catcher laughed and replied dryly "That love I am not even going to dignify with an answer. But I will say this, something is bothering Peter. He says he thinks Vicky could be seriously sick. Could you please talk to her, and then get her to call Peter or come to his office? If she doesn't I think Peter is going to lose it."

Barbara sighed on the other end of the line. She looked at the woman in question, who was currently sitting across from her. She sighed again and eyed Vicky and nodded, having silently confirmed something for herself.

**'Catch, I need for you to occupy him, and I'll have a talk to her and try to find out what is going on. I'll either call back or I'll get her to call him later once I'm through with her'**

Catcher nodded and replied "Thank you love. I really appreciate it. He won't get anything done other wise and of course he'll annoy me and then you'll have to deal with me when I get home at the end of the day, same old as usual."

He hung up after another moment. He then turned to Peter and raised an eye brow and commented "Well, there you go, that wasn't so hard now was it? Barbara will speak with Vicky and ask her what is going on. Then Vicky will either call or come to your office."

Peter gushed "Oh Catch you really are the best friend" Catcher held up his hand cutting him off and commented "Yes I know. I'm not your best reporter for nothing. I never got to where I am now, without being quick and getting things done when they are needed."

Meanwhile Barbara had replaced the phone in its cradle and looked straight a head at Vicky. Vicky asked "Was that Catch? Oh what has Peter done or said to him now?"

Barbara narrowed her eyes and replied "No Vicky the real question is what is wrong with you? Obviously something is bothering you, seeing as Peter has noticed. He's worried about you, enough that Catch has noticed."

She added "In fact you look incredibly pale and tiered. You've been like this for the past couple of months, especially in the morning. A few of the sectaries have mentioned to me that they have heard you being ill constantly every morning in the women's room, whilst freshening up."

Vicky frowned and said "Those nosey gossips. They had no right." Barbara shook her head and held up a hand and said "No Vicky there honestly isn't any need to become defensive, they were just worried about you, as am I. I want to know if someone who is apart of my work force is ill. I worry for all of my girls."

Vicky sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She looked so tiered and weary. Vicky said "I saw a Doctor last Thursday and my results from the blood tests they insisted on taking came back on Friday."

Barbara asked "What did they find? Are you ok?" Vicky replied "I should be in five and a half months time." Barbara's eyes widened before she beamed and asked delightedly "Oh Vicky, are you pregnant?"

Vicky smiled shyly and nodded. Barbara let out a laugh of delight and stood up and went around the other side of the desk and hugged her best friend. She gushed "Oh Vicky this is so wonderful. How far along are you and why haven't you told Peter yet? He's going to drive Catch insane if you don't say something very soon."

Vicky replied when Barbara pulled away from their embrace. "Oh Barbara I don't know what to do. I'm three and a half months pregnant and I'm due the first of March next year."

Barbara commented "Which means you conceived in mid July. But you and Peter have been married less then two months, you could still be considered as newly weds. Why haven't you told him, seeing as you've known since last Friday?"

Vicky closed her eyes before replying "The baby is definitely Peter's. what worries me is what people are going to think. I got pregnant before I and Peter were even married Barbara. And Peter, well I wonder if he is ready to start a family so early into our marriage?"

Barbara smiled sympathetically at her and said "Well, Vicky there is only one way to find out. You're going to have to tell him. Don't call him, that would be far too impersonal, to tell your husband he's going to be a father over the telephone. Go to him at lunch and tell him then."

Vicky nodded before she and Barbara got down to business, setting up for the up and coming meeting that morning.


	3. Three

Here is to love

That evening, just as Catcher and Barbara were getting ready for bed Catch commented with a chuckle as he stuck his head around the open door of the bathroom, as Barbara sat in front of her dressing table and combed her hair. "So Vicky is going to have a baby?"

Barbara beamed and nodded "Oh Catch it is so wonderful. I really am happy for her and Peter." Catch laughed suddenly and said "Peter McManus a father. Christ Barbara you should have heard the man when Vicky told him. He came running into my office going on like a mad man."

Barbara laughed out loud at this. While Catch shook his head and went back inside of the bathroom to finish his nightly routine. Barbara chuckled as she listened to her husband grumble before she heard water running in the sink.

Ten minutes later Catcher re-entered the bedroom to find his wife standing in front of the full length mirror, studying her reflection. She continued to do this for a few more moments before Catcher came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her petite waist and nuzzled his nose into her neck.

She was dressed in a beautiful pale pink silk night gown and matching robe. She looked lovely in the pale colour. It complimented her pale skin and her blond neck length hair.

Catch continued to nuzzle her neck and placed gentle butterfly kisses on her jaw and breathed in her scent. Barbara purred in contented delight. Oh how she loved this affectionate side of her husband dearly.

Barbara leaned her head back as he caressed her stomach. She moaned quietly as he rubbed gentle and soothing circles across her stomach. Oh he was good at that she decided blissfully.

He turned her around to face him and gently kissed her, pulling her to him and wrapping his arms around her waist, as hers came up to encircle his neck and her hands laced through his black locks.

He deepened the kiss as he reached up and slipped her robe over her shoulders, and with her help he removed it completely and let her flutter to the floor in a pool of silk.

He led her backwards towards the bed not once breaking their kiss. When Barbara felt the back of her legs hit the bed, she broke their kiss and fell backwards onto the bed when he playfully pushed her onto it.

He then removed his own dressing gown before crawling upon the bed and leaned over her and recaptured her lips with his, as he used his hands to gently caress her. She whimpered into his mouth when she felt his hand brush against the side of her breast.

They broke the kiss for a second time, both were breathing heavily. Barbara watched as he switched off the bedside lap on his side of the bed before she followed suit and switch her own lamp off.

Once they were in the dark, the only source of light being the moonlight that shone though their large bedroom window. They made loved late into the night. And lay sated and content in each others arms until the next morning.


	4. Four

Here is to love

Two and a half months had past and Vicky was six months pregnant. She was glowing and finally starting to enjoy being pregnant after her morning sickness stopped completely in her fifth month.

Peter was so excited that he was going to be a father. He was less nervous and had mellowed out. Catcher secretly thought that Vicky's pregnancy had been a miracle in disguise. Life was easier at the office for Catcher now that he didn't have to deal with Peter's hysterics so often.

Barbara on the other hand was not feeling so good. She was constantly tiered and she found herself lacking any form of apatite. And she had a shorter leash on her temper and other such emotions, as Catcher had unfortunately discovered, after being on the receiving end of her emotions.

It was one evening in the McManus house hold, whilst Vicky and Peter were getting ready for bed that Vicky mentioned to her husband. "Peter has Catch said anything to you about Barbara. She has been so off lately?"

Peter stuck his head around the bathroom door and replied "Yes. He's worried about her, just as I was about you when you were feeling off, before you informed me of your pregnancy." He paused for a moment before he beamed.

Vicky frowned and asked "What could you find possible to smile a about in a situation like this? This our friends were talking about here. One of them could be seriously sick Peter."

Peter quickly soothed her ruffled features and simply commented "Yes there is that. Or maybe she could just be pregnant. Did it ever occur to you that she is suffering and showing symptoms almost identical to your own?"

Vicky's eyes widened as she placed a hand over her rounded stomach. She suddenly let out a laugh of delight. Peter nodded and said "See what I mean. Now that you're truly thinking about it, you can see the possibility there can't you?"

Vicky asked excitedly "Do you think she is even aware of the possibility?" Peter shrugged and replied "Well, she is a woman; I figured all women had some way of knowing whether there was a possibility that there was a new life growing inside of them."

Vicky shook her head and told him "No Peter it isn't like that, it doesn't work that way. Most women don't know how to recognise the signs in less they've been pregnant before or they have medical training of their own. I had no idea until the Doctor told me, when I had just reached my three and a half month mark. Most first time mothers don't know."

Peter asked "And if Barbara isn't aware are you going to confront her, so she can go and see a Doctor? Because let me tell you this, I almost drove Catch to the point of wanting to hit me when I'd been worried about you and said nothing about it. Now he's retuning the favour and in spades."

Vicky chuckled and commented sympathetically "Oh poor Catch. He isn't accustomed to worrying about someone he loves like he does Barbara. He had no reason to when he didn't do relationships or fall in love, when all he was interested in was sex on a casual basis."

Peter smiled and said "Yes I know. Catch loves and adores Barbara, more then adores her. I never thought I would see Catcher Block fall in love and settle down. He had one crazy reputation, as you know."

Vicky moaned and replied "Oh tell me about it. He was a true ladies man if ever there was one. He was the kind of man I would have dated and probably more then half of the women in the city. And the fact he was a well known and handsome journalist tended to added to that reputation."

Peter chuckled and added "Oh and that infamous little black book of his. I hated that book. Every woman he saw fit to add to his regular rotating schedule was in that thing. He was the type of man that every man like me loved to hate."

Vicky added "Every woman who took her cues from Barbara and decided to follow a life like a man, casual sex with no feelings, must hate her. Not only did she tame the famous ladies man Catcher Block, she married him, taking him off the market. And the fact he is also faithful to her and has no intentions of taking a mistress really must rile those single women."

Peter grinned and nodded as she said "Of course. And now with the possibility of Catch becoming a father, well, I'd say the final nail as well and truly been knocked into the proverbial coffin; Catcher Block truly one hundred percent belongs to Barbara Novak-Block."

Vicky grinned and said "Well, I'm going to confront her tomorrow at lunch. First I'm going to call her and arrange to go to lunch. Just because I am now on maternity leave does not mean I can't go out to lunch with my best friend."

Peter nodded and replied "Good. Because if you can convince her to see a Doctor, that's if she hasn't already seen one, it will most likely put Catch's mind at rest, and I can have my best journalist back stress free."


	5. Five

**Here is to love **

Vicky had called and had arranged to have lunch with Barbara. Barbara agreed to meet her a one thirty at their usual café near central park. So Vicky met Barbara at one thirty just as they planned. Barbara had already been sitting there waiting for Vicky to arrive. And as Vicky had expected, her friend looked tiered and sickly.

Barbara smiled weakly and asked "So Vicky, how are you doing, and how is baby doing? It seems strange not having you at work." Vicky nodded knowingly. It felt strange not being at work.

Vicky replied "Oh I'm fine and so is she. She is constantly kicking now and keeping me up at night. I constantly need to use the bathroom it is really annoying.

And of course it does feel strange being on maternity leave. I'm used to working; I'm finding it difficult to just stay at home or go shopping. I'm a woman with a career; I'm not a house wife Barbara."

Barbara nodded and replied "Yes I know I'm the same. I'm no house wife and Catch is more then aware of this. He accepts it, knowing I'll never turn into one of those women who run's around popping out babies and picking up and washing his laundry. Or cooking and cleaning the dishes."

Vicky asked "What system have you both agreed to? I and Peter have agreed to share the duty of who cooks and cleans. If Peter cooks I'll wash the dishes. And if I cook Peter washes the dishes."

She added "We never leave any of our dirty washing lying around the bedroom. Every night I place my clothes and he places his own in the dirty clothes hamper. Then we take turns on who gets to take it to the dry cleaners."

Barbara nods and replied "Catch and I have a similar system. Only I do most of the cooking as Catch is not much of a cook. But he does balance that out by being the one who mainly takes and collects our clothes from the dry cleaners. Our other house chores are taken care of by a cleaner that Catch pays and I hired."

Barbara asked "Have you and Peter figured out how you're going to both work and have a baby?" Vicky nodded and replied "Of course. It was one of the first and main things I and Peter have talked about. We've both decided that we will have a nanny who will take care of the baby during the day in the week. Then at weekends I and Peter will take care of her. Then when she is old enough she will go to kinder garden."

Barbara raised an eyebrow and commented "You keep saying she. You seemed convinced it is going to be a girl. I thought you and Peter decided to wait and see what the gender of the baby would be?"

Vicky replied "We did. But I've just got this feeling that I'm having a little girl, while Peter being the typical male that he is, insists that we are having a boy. He wants a son to carry on his name and to hand 'Know' magazine over to when he decides to retire."

She added wistfully "But I want a little girl, I really, really do Barbara. A beautiful little girl with my brains and personality, but with Peter's sweet and loving nature, who can help with one of your children take over 'Now' magazine when she is older and you and I have retired."

Barbara smiled gently and closed her eyes as she said "I don't mind what I have. I'd be happy with a beautiful little boy with his daddies pretty blue eyes and his heart melting smile. Or even a little girl with my personality. I don't care as long they are health and their mine and Catch's."

Vicky raised an eye brow and said "You speak like someone who is expecting already. Barbara Novak-Block what are you not telling me?" she watched as the other woman guiltily bit her lower lip and refused to meet her eyes.

"Barbara?" Vicky asked "Are you pregnant? Is that why you've been ill of late? Why you've been so tiered and emotional? Catch is worried about you Barbara. He is mentioned this to Peter. Peter drove Catch crazy when he had been worried about me, and now Catch is returning the favour."

Barbara chuckled weakly at hearing this. She sighed and swallowed as she looked up at Vicky and revealed "Vicky I went to see my Doctor the other day and this morning I received the results back from the blood tests the Doctor took."

She trailed off and smiled slightly. It was all Vicky needed before she let out a squeal of delight she beamed as she exclaimed "Oh Barbara, how far along are you and when are you going to tell Catch. The poor man is going insane with worry?"

Barbara replied with a smile "The Doctor told me I'm just over eleven weeks pregnant. That's why I've been so ill over the past couple of weeks. I'm going to have a baby. And Catcher Block, ex ladies man extraordinaire is going to be a daddy."

Vicky let out a giggle and said "Oh my, Catcher Block the daddy. I never thought I'd see the day that Catcher Block became a father. He was such a ladies man, hardly the type to want to settle down become a husband and now a father. Wow wonders do never cease."

Barbara laughed and true laugh since Vicky had arrived at the table. Barbara sighed and leaned back in the booth, and took a sip of her ice tea with lemon.


End file.
